


We Who are About to Rock

by Jakobre_the_Writer



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-28 10:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30137928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakobre_the_Writer/pseuds/Jakobre_the_Writer
Summary: Blake Belladonna is a small time artist in the indie rock scene, or at least that's what she keeps telling herself. Life takes a turn when she's brought on for a collaboration with rising stars Burning Roses, and flown out to their island home of Patch to make a new album.In between the music and farm work, Blake finds that romance might be just around the corner.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 19
Kudos: 81





	1. Small Time/Big Time

**Author's Note:**

> It's time for the Band AU! I've been working on this one on and off for the past few months, and finally finished it up.  
> The past few months have been a bit rocky on my end, so admittedly the story is a bit less put together than I would like. Still, I hope you enjoy it!

Yang Xiao Long was one of the best guitarists in the modern music scene, a feat all the more impressive for having only one hand. She and her sister Ruby were rising stars in rock, having released four successful singles, and an album that nearly topped the charts within three years of their debut. Now, according to Blake's agent Ilia, they were looking to collaborate with other small artists.

And Blake was certainly a small artist. With only one EP and a handful of singles to her name, barely anyone outside of Menagerie knew she existed. Hell, people inside of Menagerie barely knew she existed. Only the folk who kept an eye out for indie rock artists could count themselves as fans, and even among that crowd she was still an up and comer. Regardless, she was popular enough to warrant a tour the past year, even if the venues were small and her time there short and to the point. Blake was a musician, that was for sure, but she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of being an entertainer just yet. There was an easy manner, a simple grace that most artists had even at her level, a grace and manner that the Xiao Long-Rose sisters had in spades. It was enough to make Blake jealous sometimes after she had too little sleep and too much to drink. 

Yet they had sought her out, her specifically, for their collaboration. Blake wasn't exactly a household name, and so the sister's interest in her was surprising to say the least, though everyone said their musical styles would compliment one another. It was more of what Blake considered to be a personal conflict. She wasn't quite sure how a quiet bookworm from the big city was supposed to get along with a country bumpkin who had a prosthetic arm engraved with 'This machine kills fascists'.

Still, at least Blake knew the other person they were considering for the collaboration. 

“I don’t know, Weiss. It seems like a bad idea,” Blake grumbled, only half paying attention to the video call on her scroll, most of her focus on her computer as she fielded emails.

“Blake, it won’t be that bad. They’ll just send you their thoughts on the song, we’ll all record our parts individually, and someone in Vale will put it all together. There’s nothing to worry about, you won’t even have to leave Kuo Kuana,” Weiss said matter of factly. She was currently in a dressing room before a performance, applying the last of her makeup while a hair stylist wrangled her long white locks. As Blake understood it Weiss was performing for the upper crust of Atlas tonight, which meant a lot of piano and arias rather than the rock and power vocals that Weiss had recently grown fond of. 

“But I don’t sing their kind of music!” Blake groaned as she threw another handful of emails into the spam folder. “They’re all happy and upbeat, my songs are always depressing.”

“So you’ve been listening to them? Thanks, Ciel,” Weiss said as her hair stylist stepped away with a curt bow.

“Of course, what else am I going to do to prepare? They haven’t even sent me a title yet.”

Weiss shrugged as best she was able while applying eyeliner. “Just because they're famous doesn’t mean they’re professional. You remember when I tried to collaborate with Sun Wukong.”

“I remember the horror stories,” Blake said dryly. The short lived period of collaboration between Weiss and the Vacuan country star Sun Wukong had been fraught with poor planning and worse timing. 

“Exactly. Just give it some time your agents will work out the details,” Weiss said and Blake felt her anxiety begin to fade away. Everything always seemed to fall into place when Weiss had a hand in it. Weiss' hair stylist, who was crazy enough to also double as her personal stage manager, leaned down and said,

“Five minutes, Miss Schnee.”

“Ciel, I told you to call me Weiss,” the star said in exasperation, then turned back to the video call. “I’ll talk to you later Blake. Let me know if they send anything over, okay?”

“I will. Break a leg,” Blake replied and Weiss smiled confidently before the video call ended. The moment the call ended Blake sighed and buried her head in her hands. She’d been waiting on something, anything, from her potential collaborators for nearly two weeks now. Maybe it was just because she was still small time, that might have been the reason for their slow response to her and Ilia’s emails. 

She glanced over at her list of emails, finding another addition to the ever growing chain of irritated emails from Ilia and found her smile again. Her agent and best friend had always been one for quick action and quicker responses, and the lack of communication from anyone involved with the Xiao Long-Rose sisters was driving her up the wall. Blake had long since stopped reading Ilia’s complaints, they were more for Ilia’s benefit anyway. 

As she watched the screen a new email popped into her inbox, along with an accompanying message that read ‘Look like spam?’. The email, SunnyDragon42@vmail.com, wasn’t one she recognized, but the subject caught her eye.

‘Video chat for colab?’

Blake clicked on the email cautiously, almost unwilling to believe that this was the contact she’d been waiting for. She had sent the Sister’s agent her personal email as a backup, another sign of her small time status to be sure, but she didn’t think that any of them were actually going to  _ use  _ it. 

The email was casual and friendly, and clearly one that had been written by hand rather than the standard kind that Blake was used to receiving.

‘Hey Blake!

Or Miss Belladonna if you want, just let me know. It’s Yang, from  _ Blazing Roses _ . Just checking in with you to see if you wanted to do a video call before we jump into the colab? It’s been really hectic for a few weeks, sorry no one’s gotten back to you sooner. 

Ruby and I are free over the coming weekend if that works for you? Next week is a lot more free, for me anyway, so maybe we can talk then if you want.

Anyway, let me know what’s up.

Talk to you soon!

~Yang’

Blake stared at the email for a moment, dumbfounded by its simplicity. This had to be a prank, or a hoax. This wasn’t how things were done in the professional music industry. Still, the thread of hope that it was real and they could just get this over with strung Blake along and so she forwarded the email to Ilia with an accompanying ‘?’. By now Ilia would be asleep or too busy with her girlfriend to see the email, and so Blake closed her browser. 

She considered turning on some music or trying to write something new, but the urge just wasn’t there. The creative flow hadn’t been in her bones for a while now. Her last tour, admittedly a small thing just around Menagerie, had drained her of most of her creative energy. Maybe the collaboration would be enough to get her out of this slump. Blake glanced over at the clock, seeing that it was already nearly midnight. Damn time zones, screwing up her sleep schedule, she grumbled to herself as she started to get ready for bed. For Weiss it was still eight o’clock, for Yang Xiao Long it was closer to five. 

“Whatever,” Blake mumbled, pushing the email out of her mind. Ilia would follow up with it tomorrow, though she was just as likely to send it right back and tell Blake to take care of her own messes. As Blake finished up her nightly routine and fell into bed, she was just glad that there was a hint of some progress finally being made on the collaboration. 

"No, you can't talk with them this weekend, you're busy," Ilia said, then held up a pair of shirts, "Which one looks better?" They always started their mornings this way, one of them wandering over to the other’s apartment to chat and have some tea. It was nice, a way to ease into the horrible workflow that made up the music industry.

"The dark gray one, like always. I know I have the charity gig in the morning and that quick thing in the afternoon on Saturday, but I should have time in between right?" Blake said, reviewing her schedule in her head. At the very least she remembered the charity performance, that one she was excited for. 

"You're accepting the Menagerie Medal of Fine Arts, remember?"

Blake groaned as she heard that. It was an honor, of course, but she knew that Governor Sienna Khan would go on for hours beforehand. They knew each other personally and Blake enjoyed Sienna's company, but that woman loved to give speeches. They'd be lucky to get through the ceremony before someone fell asleep.

"And on Sunday you have that on air concert for MPR." 

"Right," Blake grumbled, "so what do we do?"

Ilia sighed as she slid on her shirt and then the leather jacket she always insisted on wearing. It did make her look good, even Blake had to admit that. "I guess you're doing a one on one call with Yang Xiao Long this Monday.

"Can we make it Tuesday? I'm gonna be drained after the weekend."

"Their agent insisted on Monday," Ilia said with a shrug and then her face contorted into a half sneer, half frown that Blake knew meant Ilia was upset with something.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked and Ilia let out an exasperated sigh.

"Their agent is their father, their fucking father! How ridiculous is that?" Ilia said as she began to tie back her hair.

"You're my best friend, isn't that the same thing?"

"No, not even close. We're not related. This is nepotism or something." Ilia let her hair tie snap in place and glanced in the mirror. "How do I look? Do you think Pyrrha will like it?"

"She likes everything you wear," Blake snorted, "You're fine."

“She doesn’t like my favorite shirt,” Ilia said, toying with her jacket. Blake choked back a derisive laugh as she remembered that shirt.

“Oh, the purple one with ‘Pussy Slayer’ across the chest? Yeah, I wonder why Pyrrha doesn’t like that one.” Pyrrha was one of the most mature women that Blake knew, but the amazon of a woman always looked like she would faint at the very mention of sex. “If you’re that nervous, she’s in the next room. Just go ask her.”

Ilia groaned in defeat and stood, taking one last look at herself in the mirror. “Fine, I’ll go ask. Ten Lien says she doesn’t like my shirt.”

“Why do you love giving me money?” Blake asked with a smirk, “You’re on.”

Ilia grumbled to herself as she stormed out of the room and into the den to be greeted with an excited gasp and Pyrrha gushing, “Oh, Ilia I love that shirt on you!” Through the open door, Blake glanced out and shared a knowing look with Pyrrha. The walls in Ilia’s apartment weren’t nearly as thick as she thought they were. 

With a thud Ilia sat on the couch next to Pyrrha, squirming a little as her girlfriend planted a kiss on her cheek. “Stop, you’re gonna ruin my makeup.”

“You don’t wear makeup,” Pyrrha said, a wave of confusion sweeping across her voice.

“You’re right,” Ilia said, “C’mere.” Immediately the two shared a slow, tender kiss, all of Pyrrha’s worry dissipating immediately. Blake fought to keep a frown from her face as she saw it, a spike of jealousy thrusting its way into her heart. She wasn’t jealous that Ilia was in a relationship with someone else, she was overjoyed that Ilia had found someone she loved. It was the fact that everyone around her seemed to be finding someone wonderful to live and love with, while Blake was left behind. 

Her mother would have shaken her head and said, ‘You just haven’t found the right person,’ but Blake thought it was more than that. It would be a rotten toss of the dice for whoever wound up with her in the end. 

She pushed the thought aside with a sigh and stood, getting ready to leave. It was a lazy day, so Ilia and Pyrrha were no doubt going to spend most of the day swapping spit and Blake had no desire to sit around and watch. 

“Bye Ilia, bye Pyrrha. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else,” she called out as she left. Ilia waved, then yelped as Pyrrha twisted so they were laying on top of one another on the couch. Blake laughed softly and rolled her eyes, then made her way back to her own apartment.

Blake could barely keep her eyes open that monday evening. The full weekend had, as she predicted, drained all of her energy. She loved playing music and she loved sharing it with people, but a little bit went a long way. Performing to a crowd of thirty was much more her speed than three thousand. Fortunately for her nerves, she hadn't brought in those numbers since her tour. 

Most of her day had been spent arguing with her label about her biggest hit,  _ From Shadows _ . The label wanted to shorten it even further for the radio, though nearly an entire minute had already been shaved off for the first radio edit. Ilia had rallied to her defense, but the label wasn't budging. If the collaboration went well, they said, they would reconsider.

It was only eleven-fifteen, but Blake was tired and so she started to go through her nightly routine, almost forgetting that her computer was already in a video chat room awaiting Yang Xiao Long. She hadn't connected yet, and Blake had been specific about how late she was willing to stay up for the call. 

Blake lounged in her chair with her headphones off, idly spinning in a circle as she brushed her teeth. Just another fifteen minutes and she could sign off and head to bed. She spun around once, twice, three times before she realized that the screen on her computer had changed.

Instead of a black screen with Blake’s room in the lower right corner, now there was a camera view of someone that Blake recognized immediately as Yang Xiao Long. The blonde smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck as she stared at Blake in awkward silence. Blake stared back, her toothbrush lolling out of her mouth as she realized that she had been caught looking like an absolute fool. For a moment she considered hurling herself offscreen and crawling to her bathroom to freshen up, but that would only have made the situation worse. 

“I’ll be right with you,” she said instead, trying to seem at least slightly professional. Yang Xiao Long nodded slowly, and Blake raised up her headphones to hear the response.

“Yep. Take your time.”

The moment that Blake was sure she was offscreen she bolted into the bathroom, hurling her toothbrush into its holder and rinsing her face clean of toothpaste. Gods, why had she taken her makeup off already, she knew this call was coming! Instead of taking the time to redo it all, she brushed her hair out quickly and flashed a winning smile at the mirror like she had practiced on a thousand reporters before. It looked weak and embarrassed.

It would have to do. 

“Sorry about that,” Blake said as she sat back down and slid on her headphones, “I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it. It’s already pretty late here.”

“Time Zones are a bitch,” Yang Xiao Long said, her sheepish smile replaced with the pure cockiness that she always seemed to ooze in live performances. “I woulda been here sooner, but Ruby insisted we go out muddin’ after rehearsal. You can call me Yang, by the way, I don’t go in for ‘mister’ or ‘miss’ or anythin’.” 

Blake took a moment to look Yang over. She was, indeed, covered in mud and dirt but still beaming underneath it all. Her blonde hair was matted and her lilac eyes were bloodshot, but somehow she was still undeniably beautiful. There was a strange openness to her, a welcoming presence that Blake just couldn’t place. She had seen her before, in pictures and videos anyway, but seeing her in such a casual setting was like seeing a different person altogether. Yang seemed much more real, more down to earth than she ever had in a hundred concerts. It was altogether the least professional way that Blake could imagine meeting a world famous musician.

“I’ll keep that in mind. What’s mudding?” Blake asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

“Hop in a truck and go drive around some abandoned fields and through the woods and shit,” Yang said with a shrug, “It’s fun.”

“I’m sure,” Blake said, trying to maintain at least a facsimile of professionalism. Then again, she hardly looked professional, already falling asleep in her chair and her bob of hair a barely controlled rat’s nest. 

Yang considered her for a moment, a friendly smile wafting across her face. “So, business?”

“Absolutely.”

“First off, do you want me to call you Blake or Miss Belladonna? Cause I’ll do either, Ruby got told to call Weiss Schnee ‘Miss Schnee’ when they started talkin’.” 

“Blake is fine. You’re talking to Weiss too? Shouldn’t we all be on a call together?” Blake asked, straightening her posture and wishing that she had some caffeinated tea an hour ago. 

“We, uh, couldn't figure out how to do that,” Yang said with an embarrassed smile, “We’ve done everything over the phone before now, but I wanted to seem like a pro for the colab, you get me?”

In Blake’s opinion she wasn’t doing a very good job, but she did appreciate the realness that Yang gave off. There was something comforting about seeing someone as they really were, and not the mask they put on for appearances. “Of course. We can work on it.”

“Sure. So...business,” Yang muttered, “I love your music, especially  _ From Shadows _ . I think you’re gonna blend real well with Ruby.”

“Really? You liked  _ From Shadows _ ?” Blake was surprised, if only because most humans didn’t like her biggest hit. It was a rallying cry about Faunus violence against humans as vengeance for centuries of oppression, something that had been a reality only a few decades prior.

“Oh yeah. I’m from a small town so we never really learned about all that, it was all agriculture and marine science,” Yang said with a shrug, “But you got me to do a ton of research. I’ve basically been readin’ nonstop since that song came out.”

Blake raised an eyebrow, trying to keep the judgement out of her expression. Plenty of humans had gone on about learning the struggles of the Faunus for it all to be performative in the end. “Anything you like in particular?”

“ _ The Rage: A Treatise on the Faunus and their Relations to Humanity _ by Leonardo Lionheart was pretty good, but I read that a lot of Faunus don’t like him much,” Yang said, and Blake nodded slowly. Leonardo Lionheart was best known for two things: being a phenomenal writer in his younger years and a yellow bellied coward in his later years. “But I prefer anything by Sienna Khan. She doesn’t give a fuck what humans have to say, and I appreciate that.”

Blake laughed at that and shook her head ruefully. Sienna had gotten into more than one fistfight with a human over her refusal to baby them when talking about Faunus issues. Political experts still debated whether it helped or hindered her election campaign. “She’s got a lot to say, that’s for sure. But anyway, about the collaboration. How are we planning on doing this, logistically I mean. Weiss said that we’d all record our parts individually, is that the plan?”

“Oh, I kinda thought that y’all were comin’ out to Patch to record it,” Yang said, furrowing her brow in confusion. “But if you wanna do it that way, we can.” Noting Blake’s mirrored look of confusion at the name ‘Patch’ she added, “Patch is me and Ruby’s hometown. We record stuff in Vale, but I figured we could practice out on Patch.” 

“I see.”

“We can do it either way, I just think it’ll be easier to collaborate in person,” Yang went on, “I prefer seein’ people face to face, you know? An’ a video call ain’t the same thing, I’d love to havin’ this conversation at, like, a bar or somethin’.” She froze for a moment and suddenly gasped in horror. “A-as professionals! You know, just-just goin’ out to talk.”

Oh, she was jumpy. That was something that Blake couldn’t help but dive into. “Of course. I would hope that you wouldn’t ask me on a date after knowing me for all of ten minutes.”

“Nah, of course not,” Yang said, forcing a cocky smile onto her face, “I would never. So, Ruby and I were thinkin’ of combinin’ everybody’s biggest hits for part of the colab. Like, we sample  _ From Shadows, I Burn, Red like Roses,  _ an’  _ Mirror Mirror _ . She’s got a killer beat that she’s workin’ on right now, I think it’ll be a good fit.”

Blake mulled that over in her mind for a moment, then asked, “If that’s all you want to do, then why not just get a temporary license on the song? It’s not really a collaboration if you’re just sampling something.”

“Well that would only be part of it. I’m hopin’ that we come up with somethin’ new too,” Yang said, leaning back in her chair and throwing her arms up behind her head. Blake nearly crushed her arm rests as she saw Yang’s ridiculously toned biceps and how her orange tank top stretched against her breasts. Blake didn’t necessarily have a type when it came to women, if only because she’d never had much chance to explore that part of herself, but Yang Xiao Long seemed to be checking all the right boxes.

“That-that sounds like something we could do. We’ll just have to see how the remix does first,” Blake managed to say and Yang nodded sagely.

“Right, of course. Do you mind rerecordin’ parts of it? You know, if the timin’ is off or whatever.”

“No, of course not,” Blake said, then yawned heavily. Yang smiled at her gently and Blake felt her heart flutter unnaturally in its cage. “Sorry, it’s past my bedtime.” Gods, did she just admit that she had a bedtime in front of one of the most successful young artists in history? Of course she did, Blake moaned to herself, because no matter how heavily political her songs or how many shows she did, deep down Blake Belladonna was a godsdammed dolt.

“I shoulda been on sooner,” Yang said apologetically and Blake waved away the apology before it happened. “We’re busy tomorrow, but can we chat again on Wednesday? I’ll be on at two my time, promise.”

Blake tsked slightly and smiled despite herself. “Sure, we can do that. I’ll talk to you then Yang.” 

“Talk later, Blake,” Yang said with a small wave, then the video cut off. Blake sighed and leaned back in her chair, bemoaning her unprofessionalism at the start of the meeting. Or had it even been a meeting? It had been more like the conversations she’d had with bar owners back when she had just started out and had been looking for gigs, short, sweet, and usually not very productive. 

Still, she had until Wednesday to figure out her side of things. She would definitely be better prepared for that meeting.

  
  


“So how’d it go?” Ruby asked, poking her head around the doorway to Yang’s room.

“She’s fuckin’ pretty,” Yang mumbled, more to herself than to Ruby. Blake Belladonna was practically a supermodel in all her official promotional material. Having seen her off guard and without three hours of prep work, Yang thought that she looked even more beautiful.

“Did she agree to do the colab?” Ruby said, a bit more forcefully to get Yang back on track.

“Oh, yeah! She’s down for it,” Yang said, pushing herself up and away from her desk to hide her embarrassment. “But she wants to wait and see how the remix does before writin’ somethin’ new.”

“Miss Schnee was the same way,” Ruby said with a shrug, “We’re talkin’ more on Thursday, though, so I’ll see how she feels about it then. I’m gonna grab somethin’ for dinner, you want anythin’?”

“Nah,” Yang said, glancing at her mudstained hair, “I need a shower first.” Mudding in itself was fun. Tripping and falling into the mud was decidedly less so. 

Ruby snickered softly and started to slide away. “I wasn’t gonna say anythin’, but you look like shit.”

“I look like-Get back here!” Yang yelped, darting after her sister who had already torn down the hall and into the kitchen. “See if I drag your drunk ass home next time we go out!” 

“You get worse than me!” Ruby shouted back, already rummaging around in the fridge.

“Lightweight!”

“Fuck you!”

Yang laughed and ducked into the bathroom, stripping out of her clothes and turning on the shower. As she pulled up her orange tank top she paused. The look of barely restrained attraction, want even, that Blake had shot her when she stretched hadn’t gone unnoticed. If it were any other woman, Yang would never have hesitated in pursuing that look.

Well, maybe. If she could work up the nerve to pursue it at all. 

But that wouldn’t be with Blake. Not only were they both professionals, but Blake Belladonna was well known for saying that she’d never be in a relationship with someone else in the industry. It was better that way, less distracting for everyone involved, she had said in an interview once. Yang was going to respect that, no matter how many looks of strangled desire that beautiful, wonderful, charming woman sent her way. Yang smiled dopily as she thought of Blake, of that tiny laugh she’d gotten from her, then balked.

Ah. So tonight was a cold shower kind of night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The collaboration between Burning Roses, Blake, and Weiss moves forward, with more than a few bumps in the road. Zwei goes for a walk.

Yang Xiao Long was a responsible woman. On top of that, she was kind, caring, empathetic, and most certainly a good person. What she was not good at was keeping track of her own things, especially after Ruby had moved in with her full time. When it came to the important stuff, like her guitar and other music stuff, she knew where they were at all times. It was just the way she was to keep tabs on the things that she loved. When it came to things that were slightly less important, well…

“Ruby? Have you seen my contacts?” Yang shouted down the hall, towards the open door that led to Ruby’s room. There was a long beat of silence. “Ruby?”

“Huh? What?” Ruby shouted back, “I was workin’ on the beat, what’s up?”

“My contacts! I’m talkin’ with Blake in ten minutes and I can’t find ‘em.” Having spent most of the day inside after morning chores, Yang hadn't felt the need to put her contacts in. Her vision wasn’t that bad, after all, and mostly she just needed it for seeing things up close. Between taking care of things around the house and practicing on her guitar, seeing things up close hadn’t come into play just yet. Besides, her eyes hurt like hell from staying up staring at her computer too late into the night and the thought of shoving something onto her eye wasn’t terribly attractive. 

“Why would I know where they are? Just wear your glasses!” Ruby shouted back and Yang sighed, leaning onto the sink and staring into the mirror. Perfect. She had gotten all cleaned up, even put her hair into a semi professional looking ponytail, and the only thing left to complete her look was her contacts. 

Yang groaned and rolled her eyes. “I hate wearin’ my glasses, I look like a dork!”

“You are a dork!”

“Shut up!”

Ruby cackled from down the hall and Yang heard the sound of her door creaking closed. She didn’t shut it all the way, just enough to indicate that she was getting back to work. Ruby’s skill as a drummer was remarkable, but her real talent and, if Yang had to be honest, the reason they were signed to a label at all was because of Ruby’s ability to craft underscores to their songs. They didn’t  _ need _ a dozen other musicians, Ruby could throw it all together on her computer. Of course Yang had taught her everything she knew, but Ruby always took things that one step further. It made Yang prouder than she could ever remember being when she saw how talented her sister was. Right now though, she had a meeting with Blake Belladonna.

With another sigh, Yang walked back to her room and slid open the drawer on her desk, pulling out a glasses case from within. She had, at her father’s insistence, gotten glasses that matched her new prescription every time she was given new contacts. For emergencies like this it was a good backup. 

She popped open the case to see her glasses, with their purple frame to match her eyes. Yang didn’t look bad with them on, not at all, she just preferred how she looked without them. If there wasn’t a risk of a lot of small type and the threat of focusing on a computer screen she could barely see giving her a migraine, she wouldn’t have worn them at all.

With another series of grumbles, she put on her glasses and settled into her chair, getting the video chat room up and running. It would be around nine in Menagerie, at least in Kuo Kuana, and therefore she and Blake could talk a lot longer about the logistics of the upcoming collaboration. She had sent the basic beat that Ruby had made the day before, and hopefully Blake had time to review it. 

A loading swirl appeared and then suddenly the face of Blake Belladonna followed after it. She was all done up, including a wonderfully matched blazer and dress shirt, although the cheap can of hard iced tea slightly undid the look of professionalism. With a winning smile and perfect posture, Yang would have thought she was talking talking to a statue if Blake didn’t say,

“Good evening Yang. Or, afternoon I suppose.” Her voice was soft and melodious, and Yang could hear how easily she was able to shift from speaking to singing even in just how she said ‘good evening’. 

“Evenin’, Blake,” Yang said, adjusting her glasses nervously. What the hell was that? She didn’t  _ get _ nervous, especially not on business. Not unless she was in the presence of a beautiful woman that she thought she stood a chance with anyway, but Yang had been careful not to fall for anyone in the past few years. The last thing she needed was some fame hungry gold digger on her heels, or the potential scandal of hooking up with a fellow artist. “How’ve you been?” 

“I’m doing well, thank you,” Blake’s voice, while beautiful, was completely professional. Yang cursed herself and sat up a bit straighter, throwing herself into being a consummate professional as well. “And you?”

“Doin’ well, no complaints.”

“I’m glad to hear it. So, the collaboration?” No sooner had she asked that than did her phone ring and she swore under her breath. It was soft and while Yang couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, it was clearly something harsh. “Hello, Blake Belladonna speaking.” There was a long moment of silence, and Blake’s expression of annoyance faded into one of happy resignation. “Ilia, I’m in the middle of conversation with Yang Xiao Long, can’t this wait? I know you’re nervous, but you’re gonna do great. Just don’t get into your own head about it, okay? Tell me how it went tomorrow.” Blake hung up and sighed, shaking her head. “Sorry about that. My agent was having a small crisis.”

“Ilia Amitola, right?” Yang asked. She had familiarised herself with Blake’s inner circle in preparation for the colab, a group that consisted entirely of Blake and her agent. 

“That’s her. Sorry for swearing, by the way,” Blake said, a small apologetic smile spreading across her face. Yang shrugged and said,

“It’s no problem. I don’t mind swearin’ so much, s’long as you can actually swear well.”

“There are ways to swear badly?” Blake asked, furrowing her brow and Yang nodded firmly.

“My sister can’t swear to save her life. I’ve been tryin’ to teach her, but it’s not rubbin’ off on her.” 

“Guess you’ll have to try harder.”

“I always do. Workin’ hard’s the only way to get anywhere, that’s what my dad always says,” Yang said, puffing her chest out proudly. It was remarkable that she and Ruby had done as well as they had with their music, being nobodies from nowhere. It had taken a lot of hard work and a lot of tears to get where they were today. “Speakin’ of, you get a chance to listen to the beat I sent over?”

Blake nodded and lifted up a small notepad with time marks and questions. “I did. I’ve been working out some ideas that we can try, to better implement our different songs.”

“So you’re in?” Yang asked with a small grin and Blake nodded again.

“Of course. I wouldn’t be on this call if I wasn’t.” Yang shrugged, it made sense after all. “So, is there a story we’re telling with the song? It seems to have a progression to it, like it kicks off at various points and has some obvious buildup.”

“I’d have to ask Ruby about that. I’m sure she has some kinda scene planned out,” Yang said, leaning back in her chair and throwing her arms up above her head in a stretch. She glanced down at the computer screen and could have sworn that Blake was blushing, though that was probably just the lighting in her room. 

“Does she do that a lot? Plan out scenes?” Blake asked, scribbling something down on her notes.

“Oh, sure. She has a whole anime planned out for our songs, it’s nuts. If she wasn’t a musician, she’d be an animator or a writer or somethin.”

“Just a creative soul, huh?” Blake asked, a small smile playing on her lips. Yang nodded with a proud grin and settled back into her chair. 

“Sure is. She’s the one who got us into the music business anyway. I mean, I know that in the interviews we always say it was me, but I just got her to start playin’ drums.” Yang laughed softly as she remembered those old days, how Ruby’s first drum kit was a barrel and a few cardboard boxes. “She was one of those kids who was always banging on pots and pans and things, so it was an easy thing for her to pick up.”

“You sound like you raised her,” Blake said, and her posture relaxed just a hair. It was a small change, but it was enough that Yang knew she was getting more comfortable with their conversations.

“Well, I kinda did,” Yang said, a pang of sadness shooting through her heart as she said it. Blake’s expression fell and she looked away.

“Your mother, right. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“S’all right. I wouldn’t have said anythin’ publicly if Rubes and I didn’t want people to know about it.” Yang shrugged again and put on a brave face. It was better that she had to be reminded of Summer than Ruby. Her little sister, for all her bravery and strength of will, was still devastated by the loss of their mother. But there was time for remembrance later, right now it was time for business. “Anyway, the collaboration. You have any ideas for somethin’ new? If the remix works out?”

“No, not really,” Blake said, “I haven’t really had time or the energy to work on something new.” There was a beat of silence, then she added, “Not that I won’t be able to come up with something new, it’s just been hard the past couple of days.”

“I get that. You would not believe how hard it was to write  _ Gold _ , that was a nightmare.” 

“Really? I thought you said-Well, in an interview you said you loved that song.”

“I do!” Yang said quickly, “But I was in a real shit place while I was doin’ it. It was hard to be that...peppy, you know?”

“That’s why I only write what I’m feeling,” Blake said, furrowing her brow, “Not that it’s helping much right now.”

“If I’d written what I was feeling back then, I’d’ve gotten a long talkin’ to from my therapist,” Yang said dryly and Blake snickered, covering her mouth with one hand as though to hide her smile. 

“Yeah, we’ve all been there,” Blake said, and suddenly her eyes were far off, not across distance, but time. It was like she was seeing something that Yang couldn’t, and maybe never would. Blake suppressed a shudder and forced a smile onto her face. “What about you? Anything new?”

“Ah, one song’s bumpin’ around in my head right now. It’s a lot heavier than anythin’ that you’ve done, no offense or nothin’,” Blake waved the comment away, “An’ I think that it’s more a solo piece? Like, there’s some backup vocals, but that’s not what I’m thinkin’ of when I say collaboration, you know? Everyone should have an equal part of the song.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Blake said, then pursed her lips, “Maybe after we work on the remix a bit, we’ll have some inspiration? New ideas always spring from new experiences, for better or worse.”

Yang smiled softly and nodded. “Damn Blake, you shoulda been a philosopher. That was brilliant.” 

Blake blushed heavily and looked away, idly spinning her pen on one hand, “It’s nothing. I’ve just had a lot of time to think and read in between shows. But...thank you. Sometimes people forget that musicians have interests outside of music.”

“Damn right,” Yang said quietly, so quietly that she was afraid the mic wouldn’t pick her up but Blake seemed to hear her regardless, “There’s a whole lot more goin’ on in my life than just music.”

“Like what?”

“Hmm?”

“What else goes on in your life?” Blake asked and leaned forwards. For a moment, Yang could believe that they were sitting across one another in a diner on Patch, instead of in front of their computers thousands of miles apart.

“Oh, uh, I’ve got a little farm I put together. The house I rent has a lot of land and my landlady’s kind enough to let me do what I want with it,” Yang said, then frowned, “Though I think that’s just cause she’s mostly blind and doesn’t care what the place looks like. Whatever, it’s not important.”

“It must be fun having a farm,” Blake said in an almost wistful tone of voice and Yang scoffed lightly.

“It’s work is what it is, but it’s a good time. Keeps my mind off music all the time. I couldn’t just do one thing, you know?”

“Yeah, I get that,” Blake said, “I should actually do that, now that I think about it. I’ve been doing nothing but music for, like, two years now.”

Yang grimaced in as silly a way as she could manage and Blake’s smile returned. “Well, maybe if you come out to Patch for the collab, I can teach you a few things around the farm. It helps to get your hands dirty from time to time, keeps you grounded.”

“Well now who’s a philosopher?” Blake teased lightly and Yang blushed, spinning slightly in her chair to hide the red of her cheeks.

“We can have a few jam sessions too,” Yang muttered, more to herself than to Blake, “Just mess around with some other musicians.” 

“I’d love that,” Blake said, her smile growing, “But you seem pretty certain that we’re all coming to Patch. Wouldn’t it be easier to head to Kuo Kuana, or Atlas?”

“Ah...well…” Yang stammered, then smiled sheepishly, “I’m scared of airships.” 

“You’re scared of-Didn’t you and Ruby just do a world tour?”

“Well sure, I mean mostly just Vale, but we stopped in some other places. We traveled by boat though, had the same ship the whole tour, it was awesome.”

“I remember reading something about a ship... _ The Proud _ ?”

“ _ The Pride _ ,” Yang corrected gently and Blake nodded as though she were filing the information away, “You seem to have done a lotta research on me. Should I be worried?” It was meant to be a teasing joke, something to keep the light air of the conversation flowing, but Blake immediately shrunk back and looked away, her shoulders tense.

“I-I just wanted to know who I was working with. Sorry for prying.”

“No! No, that’s not-It’s fine, Blake. I was just joking,” Yang managed to say. Blake relaxed just a hair but the sharpness of her reaction was still there. “I...I mean, I figured you would. I-You know what, let’s talk about somethin’ else.”

“I actually have to go,” Blake said pushing her chair away, “I’ll need to talk with my agent about all of this. I still want to do the colab,” she added hurriedly, “but... _ if _ I’m heading to Patch, I’ll need to check my schedule. But I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

“S’okay,” Yang said quietly, “Sorry I made things uncomfortable.”

“It’s not you. I just have a lot that I can’t write out right now,” Blake murmured and Yang nodded knowingly. “We’ll talk more later, I’ll email you.”

“Sure. Talk later,” Yang said, forcing a smile onto her face, which Blake returned hesitantly. She waved and then the screen cut out, leaving Yang alone in her room again. “Shit,” Yang groaned, “ _ Shit _ !” 

“You fuck up that badly?” Ruby asked from the open doorway, their dog Zwei clutched tightly in her arms.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Yang said, “I just...don’t know. We just gotta be careful what we say around Blake, I think.”

“Like what?”

“Not sure yet, but she’s...got somethin’ goin’ on.”

“If she wants to tell us, she will,” Ruby said with a shrug, “I was thinkin’ about orderin’ from Jaune’s place for dinner, you want anythin’?”

“I’ll let you know,” Yang said softly and Ruby sighed.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. You didn’t know.”

“Yeah,” Yang muttered, then stood with a grunt, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m gonna go practice or somethin’, maybe go for a walk.”

“Well, shit, now you’ve done it,” Ruby grumbled as Zwei started squirming in her arms, “We’re definitely goin’ for a walk now.”

“Oh yeah?” Yang asked, then leaned towards Zwei and put on her best pet talk voice, “You wanna go for walkies? You wanna?” Zwei hurled himself out of Ruby’s arms and rolled on the ground, then bolted for the door at a speed that belayed his portly stature. Yang laughed as Ruby raced after him, then she ran a hand through her hair. She hadn’t known what to say or not to say with Blake, but hopefully she could avoid making a mistake like that again. Regardless, helping her sister chase Zwei all over Patch would cheer her up. That dog knew how to run.

Blake let out a sigh and rolled over, hiding from the morning sunlight. Today didn’t seem like a good day to get up and work on music, or do anything really. Her conversation with Yang had been much more productive than the previous one, but it was her own fault for ending it so poorly. Yang didn’t mean any harm, she was by all accounts a great person. Blake had just reacted badly to an attempted joke.

She let out a sigh and folded her pillow over her head, blocking both sets of ears. If Ilia called her, she didn’t want to know about it. The sheer scale of her embarrassment was almost all consuming, matched only by her disappointment in herself. She wasn’t like that, she didn’t stalk people for their information like  _ him _ . Yang had nothing to be worried about from her, and she had nothing to be worried about from Yang. Even if the old wounds had flared up last night,work was the last thing that would help right now. Blake didn’t need to hear Ilia go on about the logistics of the remix. It wouldn’t do any good, and Blake certainly didn’t want to be talking about business right now. At the moment, all she wanted to do was lay in bed with a good book and some tea. Business would still be waiting when she felt better.

True to form, Blake’s phone went off as she was waiting for the tea kettle to boil. She sighed and picked it up, the knowledge of whether it was an important call more pressing than her comfort day. It would help her prepare for the next day, anyhow. 

It was a text from Ilia, a long one at the looks of it, going on about the email she’d received from the Xiao Long-Rose sister’s agent. Apparently things were going well with Weiss, and she had already rerecorded parts of  _ Mirror Mirror _ for the remix. Blake groaned as she reached the end of the text, where Ilia asked how she was feeling about the project. Blake drew up a quick response, one that would probably convince Ilia that everything was fine, and sent it off. 

‘Started rerecording stuff today. Like the background stuff so far. Talking with Yang is going well. She seems great. Talk when I’m done working.”

That should do it. Ilia knew that Blake liked to work on her own for long periods of time, and probably wouldn't bother her again. Even if it wasn’t really work, looking after herself felt like a full time job some days. The thought of the conversation last night flashed up in Blake’s mind and she flinched, a cruel rumination rising from the depravity of her own mind.

What if she was stalking Yang? What if she was just like all those crazy fans people talked about? What if she was  _ dangerous _ ? She was probably just laying in wait, some hidden part of herself waiting to strike and attack.

Blake buried her head in her hands and groaned, pushing the thoughts aside as best she could. Of course she wasn’t dangerous, she was a good person. Blake knew herself, she knew that she wouldn’t hurt people she cared about or even people she had just met like Yang. That didn’t stop the thoughts from resting in the pits of her mind, festering and rotting amongst the roiling miasma or doubt and pain. 

Instead of sitting and wrestling with her thoughts, or even calling her therapist, Blake shook her head. A good book and good tea would make all the difference. Maybe some classical music would help too. Weiss always said it calmed her down, maybe it could do the same for Blake. The kettle whistled and Blake lifted it off the stove, pouring the boiling water into the waiting teapot. It would take time to steep the tea, but if she had done everything right, and she knew she had, the tea would taste absolutely wonderful. Probably the best in Kuo Kuana, right after her mother’s of course. 

Her phone went off again, a call this time, and Blake grumbled as she picked it up. She sighed and rubbed her temple with one hand. Some calls were worth taking, even on mental health days.

“Hey Weiss,” she said, leaning on the counter.

“Hi Blake,” Weiss replied, her voice low and exhausted, “How are you?”

“Fine. Just taking a day to myself with some tea and a novel. You?”

“I’m doing well, all things considered."

"All things considered? What's going on?" Blake asked, knowing full well that Weiss was just as likely to change the subject as tell her something was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just tired. You wouldn't believe how late I was up recording for the collaboration. Didn’t get to sleep until three." Weiss tried to inject some professionalism into her voice, but the effort came across as weak and halfhearted. 

"Why did it take so long? Yang's last email said it wouldn't be more than thirty seconds or so for my redo," Blake asked furrowing her brow, glancing over at her teapot. Just a few more minutes.

"You know me, I'm a perfectionist," Weiss said matter of factly, "I had to get it right, and there was too much noise until it was much later than it should be."

"Isn't it five in the morning in Mantle? Why are you awake if you went to bed so late?" 

"Because my sister's girlfriend, who I love very much, decided to fix up the house this week." Blake snorted with laughter as she heard that. Weiss had recently moved in with her sister, with all the perks and pitfalls that came with it. The house, Blake knew, was more than big enough for three people, which came at the cost of it being a fixer upper. Winter and her girlfriend Robyn had been saying for months that they would fix it up, and it seemed like that time had come, much to Weiss' chagrin.

“At five in the morning?” Blake asked incredulously, tucking the phone against her shoulder as she carefully picked up her tea and started to walk back to her desk. The bed would have been more comfortable, but she didn't trust herself to keep a good grip on both her phone and her tea while laying in bed. 

“She’s insane,” Weiss groaned, “Always going on about how it's her responsibility to look after the house since she found it, and she needs to work all the time or she feels lazy. I mean, if there’s any family where that kind of mentality would be welcome it’s with Winter and I, but even then Robyn takes it to a new level.”

“She probably thinks she has to work twice as hard to be on you and Winter’s level.” Blake took a nice long sip of her tea, not really paying attention to what she had said, but it made Weiss huff in disapproval.

“But Robyn doesn’t have to prove anything to us. We know that she’s capable, and she’s one of Mantle’s heroes. Everyone loves her politics and she’s on her way to becoming a part of the council.”

“And you’re a world famous musician,” Blake said flatly, “When has that ever stopped you from pushing yourself too hard? You were up until three last night, and you got two hours of sleep.”

“I would have slept more if Robyn wasn’t hammering down the wall!” Weiss turned away from the phone halfway through the sentence, probably to yell at her door and whoever was beyond it. There was a muffled shout that Blake couldn’t make out, and Weiss yelled, “I’m on the phone! Can you please stop working for five minutes?” After a long pause, Weiss sighed and said, “It’s nice living here, it really is.”

“You could’ve fooled me,” Blake teased lightly and Weiss huffed again. 

“Sometimes I wish I lived in Kuo Kuana or Argus. At least there they have some laws about loud noise,” Weiss grumbled and Blake nodded, even though Weiss couldn’t see her. It wasn’t the first time that Weiss had brought up moving somewhere else, though the reasons were far more complicated than just not being able to sleep. “So, you said your talks with Miss Xiao Long are going well?”

“Yeah, Yang’s great,” Blake said, then took another sip of tea.

“Yang, huh?”

“She asked me to call her that.”

“I see. And you’re going by Blake, I assume?” Weiss asked. When Blake said that yes, she was, Weiss sighed and Blake could picture her shaking her head in exasperation. “So now I just look like an asshole for insisting on being called ‘Miss Schnee’.”

“You’re just being professional. There’s nothing bad about that,” Blake tried to assuage her friend but if she knew Weiss well, and she did, then she was already making a note to go by ‘Weiss’ in any future discussions. “Yang doesn’t seem to care much for professionalism, though. It’s honestly a little off-putting.”

“It’s the same with Miss Ro-with Ruby. They act like they’re still small time kids from the country. Most people wouldn’t dare act like that at the level those two are in,” Weiss said and Blake furrowed her brow in response. It took her a moment to realize that Weiss hadn’t seen her motion and had to formulate a vocal response.

“I know. It’s strange, kind of like they’re in denial of their own fame,” she mused, more to herself than for Weiss but she knew that Weiss heard her nonetheless.

“Although I suppose it’s easier for us,” Weiss said softly, “Considering our backgrounds, I mean.” It was true, of course. As the daughter of a very public business mogul and a politician respectively, both Weiss and Blake were well accustomed to being in the public eye. For a pair of sisters from the middle of nowhere, suddenly being celebrities must have been a culture shock. 

“Maybe. Have you thought about what they said about going to Patch to record something new?”

“Ruby mentioned something offhandedly during our first conversation. I’ll have to see how the remix does and if it's worth pursuing something further,” Weiss said and Blake nodded sagely.

“That was my thought. But if we had to go out there, would you be okay with it?” Blake knew that, despite all of her wishes to see the world, Weiss hated traveling. 

“As long as I get plenty of time to spend on my own in...where was it?”

“Patch.”

“Right, in Patch, I’ll be fine. How about you? You’ve never left Menagerie.”

Blake sighed and leaned back in her chair, absentmindedly skimming her emails as she thought. “I know. I’m not sure how to feel about the idea of going to some nowhere island to meet two world famous musicians and make a brand new song. It sounds like a cult.”

“It does,” Weiss said with a snort of laughter. “Maybe everyone can come up to Mantle instead. At least then there’s plenty of things to do besides form a music cult. What even is there on Patch? I’ve never heard of it before.”

“Well, I did some research,” Blake started, and Weiss cut her off with a teasing,

“Of course you did,”

Blake pushed on regardless, ignoring the flare of her poisoned thoughts from before. Weiss hadn’t meant any harm, she curtly reminded herself before saying, “It’s a tiny island off Vale, that mostly has fishermen and lobstermen on it. I know that Yang said she has a farm, but that’s about all there is. There’s probably a few restaurants or something, maybe a theater.”

“Oh, be still my heart,” Weiss grumbled to herself, “I’ll never know how I got by without a few restaurants and a theater. Seriously, why can’t they just come to Mantle?”

“Apparently Yang’s afraid of airships,” Blake said and Wiess laughed. “Besides, do you really want to record a brand new song in Mantle, with your sister and her girlfriend making out down the hall?”

“Stop it, I do not need that image in my head,” Weiss said, “So we’re traveling to some rinky dink island because Yang is afraid to fly? That seems like a pretty big ask.”

“It is,” Blake agreed, “But the remix probably won’t get nearly enough traction to warrant making a new song. After all, it’s just a redo of our most popular stuff. How much could people possibly want that?”

“You’re probably right. Well, I need to start practicing. As long as I’m up, I might as well get something productive done,” Weiss said and Blake could hear her chair rolling away from her desk as she stood. “Have you done your rerecording yet?”

“No, not yet. I’m doing it tomorrow. Today would be…” Blake struggled to find the words, to use some of her songwriting ability in her day to day conversation, but nothing came. “It’d be hard,” she said, settling for simpler words.

“Bad mental health day?” Weiss asked quietly, and Blake let out a long sigh of affirmation. “What happened?”

“Just something that Yang said last night. She didn’t mean to,” Blake added hurriedly to assuage Weiss’ fears, “and she realized that she’d done something wrong immediately.”

“Well, hopefully she won’t do it again.”

“She won’t,” Blake said, “She was so apologetic after that I just...Well, I hope so anyway.” She knew better than to say that she knew anything about someone she’d just met. That had burned her before, and she refused to let it happen again.

“Do you want me to stay on the line?” Weiss asked and Blake took another sip of her tea as she thought.

“No, I’ll be okay. I do want you to get some sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t fall asleep on your keyboard, Miss Schnee,” Blake teased and Weiss groaned.

“Oh, stop it. I have plenty of coffee. I’ll have to make sure to pack some if we go to Patch, there’s only one place in Mantle I buy my coffee from these days, a little Faunus owned pla-Robyn! It has  _ not _ been five minutes!” Weiss grumbled to herself with enough expletives to make her sister’s hair fall out, then, “I’ll set a timer for you next time, you dolt!”

“Right. I’ll talk to you later, Weiss,” Blake said, a smile now on her face. It was a good feeling, and one that she always missed when she fell into her pit of despair. 

“Of course. Give Ilia my best,” Weiss said, then hung up. Blake let out a sigh and settled into her chair. Today was just going to be a day for relaxation and recuperation. Tomorrow was for business and whatever came after that, well, that was for Future Blake to figure out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angst is coming on hard and fast with this one.  
> The next fic is either going to be medieval or boxing, we'll see which one gets finished first.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty

**Author's Note:**

> Time for the Team RWBY Sing Along!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


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